William Harris, D.D. (1720 – February 1770) was an English

dissenting minister A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

and historian who wrote a series of historically significant biographies of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

kings of 17th-century Britain.

Life

Harris was born in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, and was educated at a

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of England's edu ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, under Thomas Amory and

Henry Grove Henry Grove (4 January 1684 – 27 February 1738) was an English nonconformist minister, theologian, and dissenting tutor. Life He was born at Taunton, Somerset, on 4 January 1684. His grandfather was the ejected vicar of Pinhoe, Devon, whose so ...

. He became a lay-preacher at age 18, and was ordained in 1741. He married Elizabeth Bovet of Honiton in Devon and became preacher at a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

chapel in the nearby village of

Luppitt Luppitt is a village and civil parish in East Devon situated about due north of Honiton. The historian William Harris was preacher at the village's Presbyterian chapel from 1741 to 1770. Towards the end of his life, the painter Robert Polhill ...

, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. In 1765, Harris's friend and patron, the wealthy philanthropist and fellow-

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

Thomas Hollis, helped secure for him the degree of Doctor in Divinity from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and wrote of him: "All his works have been well received, and those who differ from him in principle still value him in point of industry and faithfulness." London bookseller

Andrew Millar Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century. Biography In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered be ...

may have been asked by Hollis to recommend Harris to the post. Millar's business and family connections linked Hollis, Harris, and Principal

William Leechman William Leechman or Leishman (1706–1785) was a Scottish minister, theologian and academic. He was Professor of Divinity and later Principal at Glasgow University. Early life and education The son of William Leechman, a farmer of Dolp ...

(whose sermons were sold by Millar), while another of Millar's associates recalled that Hollis's recommendation to Leechman had been made "by the means of a friend". Harris became ill and died, aged 49, before he was able to write a biography of the last of the Stuart kings,

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

. He is buried in St Michael's Churchyard at

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

and his will is preserved in

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

in London.

Works

Motivated by his

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

faith and libertarian politics, Harris "resolved to become the biographer of the English branch of the Stuart family, and of Cromwell". After writing a life of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

Hugh Peters Hugh Peter (or Peters) (baptized 29 June 1598 – 16 October 1660) was an English preacher, political advisor and soldier who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, and became highly influential. He employed a flamboyant ...

(1751), Harris published ''An Historical and Critical Account of the Life and Writings of James the First, King of Great Britain'' (1753), which was to prove his most controversial work because of its very negative but highly detailed portrait of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

as a bad monarch and a deeply flawed human being. He followed it with biographies of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

(1758),

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

(1761) and

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

(1765). Harris's biographies were based on masses of documentary evidence, thus his many criticisms of the Stuart kings were closely argued. The books were popular, and reputedly resold second-hand for "an enormous price". The Cromwell biography joined those by

Isaac Kimber Isaac Kimber (1692–1755) was an English General Baptist minister, biographer, and journalist. Life Kimber was born at Wantage, Berkshire, on 1 December 1692. He studied languages under John Ward (academic), John Ward, and took a course of philo ...

(1724) and John Bancks (1739) in giving a nonconformist view, with an appeal probably restricted at that time to dissenters. After his death, all five works were republished together. They appeared as ''An Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of James I and Charles I and of the Lives of Oliver Cromwell and Charles II'' (5 volumes, London, 1814).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, William 1720 births People from Salisbury 1770 deaths 18th-century English historians English Presbyterian ministers